Learn Chinese

合： 快乐学汉语，轻松又好记。

Learn to speak Chinese happily.

It’s easy and fun.

韩佳：大家好，欢迎来到《快乐中国》。

Hello, everyone.

Welcome to our show “Happy China”.

我是快乐的韩佳。

I’m the merry Han Jia.

大牛：我是快乐的大牛。

And I’m the happy Daniel

我们现在呢，是在河南省的安阳市。

Right now, we are in the city of Anyang

in Henan Province.

安阳啊位于河南。

Anyang is located in Henan Province.

大牛：韩佳，还是先说说这安阳有什么宝贝吧。

Han Jia, Now let’s see what interesting

things we can find in Anyang.

韩佳：要说这安阳的宝贝，那可多了。

Oh, sure, lots of interesting things in

Anyang city.

我说一样你肯定知道。

One thing I’m sure you must know.

大牛：是吗？什么？

Really? What’s that?

韩佳：甲骨文。

Oracle-bone inscriptions.

大牛：甲骨文啊？

Oracle-bone inscriptions?

就是那种刻在龟甲和兽骨上的文字。

The inscriptions on animal bones and

tortoise shells.

韩佳：没错儿。

Exactly.

还有司母戊大方鼎。

Also there is the Simuwu four-legged

square bronze caldron.

大牛：这安阳是什么地方，

What kind of place is Anyang

怎么净出这么有名的东西？

with so many famed artifacts?

韩佳：安阳是中国的七大古都之一。

Anyang was one of the seven great

capital cities in ancient China.

早在三千多年前，

3000 year years ago,

商朝就把都城建在了这里。

the city was founded as the capital

of the Shang Dynasty.

亏你还是个中国通呢，

What a shame, as a China expert,

怎么连这个都不知道啊！

you don’t even know about this!

我带你去看看商朝都城吧，走。

I’ll take you on a tour of this Shang

capital city, come on.

大牛：得，这回可被她抓住小辫子了。

Bad luck, she caught me in the wrong

this time.

Zhè huí wǒ kě bèi tā zhuāzhù xiǎobiànzi le.

这 回 我 可 被 她 抓住 小辫子 了。

She’s got me by the short and

curlies now.

韩佳：大牛，这里就是商朝都城的所在地了。

Daniel, here we are at the site of

Shang’s capital.

大牛：殷墟博物苑。

The Museum of Yin Ruins.

哎，韩佳，

Hey, Han Jia,

这殷墟俩字指的是什么？

what’s the meaning of “Yin Xu”?

韩佳：殷墟啊就是指商朝都城的遗址。

It means the ruins of the Shang

Dynasty’s capital.

早在三千多年前，这个地方呢就叫殷。

As early as 3,000 years ago, the place

was called Yin.

商朝在这里建立了繁华的都城。

It was the prosperous capital city of

the Shang Dynasty.

后来商朝灭亡了，这里变成了一片废墟。

After the fall of Shang, it ended up in ruins.

大牛：那举世闻名的甲骨文就是在这里出土的吧。

The world-famous oracle-bone inscriptions

were unearthed right here.

韩佳：没错儿。

Exactly.

大牛，你注意到这门没有？

Daniel, have you noticed this gate?

大牛：这门怎么了？

What’s special about it?

韩佳：这门啊

This gate was built in the

shape of the character

就是仿照甲骨文中的门字建成的。

“Men” (gate) in the oracle-bone

inscription style.

甲骨文是象形文字。

Oracle inscriptions are pictographs.

我们现在用的汉字啊就是从甲骨文演变而来的。

The Chinese characters we use today

come from oracle-bone inscriptions.

大牛：没错儿。

Exactly.

甲骨文就是汉字的老祖宗。

So they are the earliest Chinese characters.

合： 我们进去看看，走。

Let’s have a look inside, come on.

大牛：哎，韩佳，

Hey, Han Jia,

这不是大名鼎鼎的司母戊大方鼎吗？

is this the famous four-legged Simu

Bronze Ding or cauldron?

韩佳：这可不是真的司母戊大方鼎。

No, it’s not the original.

这是一件被放大了的复制品。

It’s a replica, made bigger than the original.

真品啊在北京呢。

The original is in Beijing.

大牛：哎，都说这司母戊大方鼎

Well, this huge square bronze cauldron

是目前世界上出土最重的青铜器。

is said to be the heaviest bronze object

ever unearthed in the world.

它到底有多重呢？

How heavy is it?

韩佳：八百七十五公斤。

It weighs 875 kilograms.

大牛：可是，韩佳，

I wonder, Han Jia,

古代人为什么要造这么重的鼎啊？

why ancient people made this heavy

bronze cauldron?

韩佳：古代人认为鼎是权利和身份的象征。

To ancient people, Ding cauldrons were

symbols of power and status.

当然是越重越好了。

So the heavier, the better.

大牛：哦，怪不得汉语里很多含有鼎字的词语，

Oh, I see. No wonder there are so many

Chinese proverbs containing the word “Ding”,

都和力量或者是权利有关。

referring to power and authority.

韩佳：没错儿。

Exactly.

比如说一言九鼎。

One example is “One word weighs

nine Dings”.

字面意思呢就是说一句话抵得上九只鼎。

Literally it means one sentence equals

nine Dings.

实际意义啊

It actually means

就是说这句话份量很重，作用很大。

what one said carries great importance

and weight.

Yì yán jiǔ dǐng

一 言 九 鼎

Trustworthy

大牛，这里就是殷墟文物的博物馆。

Daniel, here we are at the Museum

of Yin Ruins.

大牛：这里的青铜器真精美！

How beautiful the bronze wares are!

就是不知道它们是怎么做出来的。

I wonder how they were made.

韩佳：想知道啊？跟我来。

You want to know more? Follow me.

大牛，你看。

Daniel, look.

大牛：这是什么啊？

What’s it?

韩佳：这叫觚，

It’s called a “Gu”,

是一种盛酒的器具。

a kind of wine vessel.

要制作它先要用泥巴做出一只模子，

To make a Gu, first you have to make

a model with clay.

然后呢再用模子做出范。

Then you make a Fan (a mould) with

the model.

大牛：等等，这个模子怎能做出饭来？

Wait a minute, how can Fan (food) be made

with the model?

韩佳：大牛，我说的范是指模范的范，

Daniel, the “Fan” I said means a mould,

as in the word “Mo Fan” (a model).

不是吃饭的饭。

It’s not the “Fan” as in “Chi Fan”

(eating food).

大牛：汉语里的同音字真是太多了。

There are so many homophones in Chinese.

Hànyǔ li de tóngyīnzì zhēn shì tài duō le.

汉语 里 的 同音字 真 是 太 多 了。

There are so many homophones in Chinese.

韩佳：等做好了范之后再把铜液倒进去。

After a Fan (mould) is made, pour

molten bronze into it.

等铜液冷却之后呢，

After the molten bronze cools down,

把范去掉就做成觚了。

take off the Fan (mould) and you’ll have

a “Gu” (cauldron).

大牛：哦，原来是这样。

Oh, that’s how it’s made.

哎，韩佳，

Hey, Han Jia,

模范这个词儿

does the word “Mo Fan” (role model)

是不是从青铜器的制作工艺中得出来的呀？

come from the bronze ware making

technique?

韩佳：没错儿。

Exactly.

模范现在是指值得学习，作为榜样的人或事迹。

Nowadays, “Mo Fan” refers to exemplary

people or their deeds,

比如说劳动模范、模范事迹等等。

such as model workers and their deeds.

对了，大牛，

Oh, I remember, Daniel,

你不是想看甲骨文吗？

you want to see oracle-bone inscriptions,

don’t you ?

就在那儿。

Just over there.

大牛：终于看到甲骨文了。

Ah, I have finally seen oracle-bone inscriptions.

这不是口天吴的吴吗？

This is the character “Wu” composed

of a “Kou” and a “Tian”, isn’t it?

这不是王字吗？

This is the character “Wang”, isn’t it?

韩佳，我发现这甲骨文一点也不难认。

Han Jia, I don’t think oracle-bone inscriptions

are difficult to read at all.

韩佳：说大话。

You’re bragging.

你知道吗，

Do you know

一百年多来啊，在殷墟出土了十六万片

over the past more than 100 years,

from the 160,000 pieces of unearthed

刻有文字的龟甲和兽骨，

shells and animal bones with inscriptions,

总共发现了四千五百多个单字。

we have found more than 4,500 characters?

能识别出来的呀有一千七百多个。

But so far, we have been able to recognize

only about 1,700 characters,

大牛：才三分之一啊，这也太少了吧。

accounting for only one third of the total.

Maybe far too few.

我刚来没几分钟就认出了仨。

Just now I recognized three characters

within a few minutes.

韩佳：吹牛！

Bragging again!

那好，明天就带你去殷墟的碑林看看。

OK, I’ll take you to the stele forest at the

Yin Ruins tomorrow.

那里刻有很多甲骨文。

There you can see many oracle-bone

inscriptions.

看你能认出几个来。

I’ll find out how many characters you

can recognize.

大牛：为什么要等到明天？现在就去。

Why tomorrow? Let’s go right now.

韩佳：现在？现在是赏心悦目。

Now? Now it’s time to feast our eyes

on the scenery.

合： 对了，别忘了，学说中国话，朋友遍天下。

Yes, don’t forget learn to speak Chinese

and you’ll have friends all over the world.

赏心悦目：

殷墟是中国商代晚期的都城遗址

The Yin Ruins refers to the remains of the

city Yin, capital of China’s Shang Dynasty.

也是甲骨文的发现地

It is also the site of unearthed oracle

bone inscriptions.

甲骨文造字方法成熟 表现内容丰富

These bone inscriptions, rich in content, reflect

the mature composition of the early script.

每一片兽骨上都镌刻着先民的智慧

Every piece of inscribed bone bears the

wisdom of ancient Chinese.

每一件铜器上都彰显着劳动者卓越的技能

Every bronze object embodies the

superb skill of ancient artisans.

司母戊大方鼎为世界青铜器之冠

The Si Mu Wu Quadripot is regarded as

the biggest bronze artifact in the world.

(Source: cctv.com)